Our Holiday in Pictures

Good morning 2014. Here we are. Face to face.

I'm paralyzed in my bed not wanting to get up and ruin a resolution. I am however, posting to our blog, since I have seriously lapsed. Consider this one step in the right direction. Here are some fun and not so fun things that happened over the holidays! Happy New Year everyone! Make this one great!

A year older

Ryder turned 8. That seems old to me. I have a second grader. It was just yesterday I was going to Taco Bell after diving practice, listening to Def Leppard in my VW. Yesterday. *Sigh*

He also has a huge love of optical illusion pics. I'm sure there's more to come in this area. Stay tuned.

Artsy Fartsy

"Mom, do I look like a Picasso?"

Yes.

Rite of Passage

So, as we were packing for our trek to the Mountains, this happened. A wooden tree swing with a big brother on it, with pass interference by Hayden, equals 3 staples. A rite of passage. Ryder had three in the same spot when he was 5. Boys. Did I mention we were packing to leave?

Family Christmastime

We went to the mountains for our usual Christmas break family bonanza. This year, we had no snow, but we did have a great time with family.

My sister-in-law Katy Schneiderman took this next series of pics. Check out her site here. If you are in the L.A. Area, you MUST check out her services.

We made bird feeders, and Hayden found out he liked peanut butter. YES! One more food for the short list!

Playtime

Quality time my brother and his RIDICULOUSLY ADORABLE family... 

Well I think so. Cousins are awesome.

Cousin lunch.

Daddy Adventures

Winter Fishing at Pinecrest Lake with friends.

A boy-only trek to find some good sled runs. Ryder took the longest run of his life, Andy says, "five football fields" long.

New Obsessions

Ryder was glued to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. We were so excited to watch him tote this book everywhere. Keep it up, Ryder. You just finished your first New York Times Best Seller. Note the clip-on reading light. Santa knows what's up. ;-)

Lots of Crochet

I crocheted a lot of gifts, finished a long overdue baby blanket and channeled my inner geek. See below. Patterns linked when applicable.

Yoda. Ear pattern by Mamachee.

Viking hat. Pattern by Mamchee (braids by me)

Long overdue baby blanket for little Charlie Girl. Missoni inspired.

Creeper hat for my Minecraft junkie.

Tessa hat from Mamachee.

Happy Dog Walks

Photo Cards - Shout Out!

Lastly, a massive shoutout to Picaboo. We ordered our holiday cards through this company this year and I found their user interface to be awesomely customizable and slick. In full disclosure, the two founders are friends of mine from college, but if you know how picky Andy and I are about these types of things, please note that we would NEVER endorse something subpar in this area. They also do school yearbooks, photo books and more. Plus, I expedited the shipping and had them sent to the mountains and they STILL arrived on the due date as promised, which doesn't always happen at the cabin. Check them out!

I did them relatively last minute, as usual, and under-ordered. We have not sent cards since 2010, due to terminal lameness and inexcusable "I'm just too busy" justifications. We apologize profusely if you were expecting to hear from us, and did not. I guess I have another resolution to make.

Happy New Year Y'all!

One hundred and ten!

April 1st! It's no joke. My baby is four. Even more insane, my grandmother on my Mother's side is 106! Not to outshine my little man, but 106 is pretty impressive. We were amazed by 100, astonished by 102, and by 103 we were pretty used to idea of this tough matriarch being what would be considered "well-into-her-hundreds." Now at 106, I am thinking we'd better get some DNA samples and bottle this stuff. Therefore, this post is titled, 110, to give credit to both the 4 and the 106.

Here she is!

Ok, I'm 3 days late in writing this, but we hosted Easterover on Sunday (doesn't have quite the ring of "Chrismukkah" does it) and Hayden's birthday in simulcast. Plus, I made an egg bake (I know, easy for you), 6 cakes- of which we ate 2 yes, there's a story there, and 35 cake pops. Why? A little person asked me to. I am also feeling really guilty that I haven't written a sappy synopsis about how amazing my four year old is, nor re-capped his entire year in a romantic, my-kid-is-perfect, look-at-my-awesome-life-on-Facebook kind of way. The truth is, my life is a bit of a shit-show right now, and the kids have a starring role...but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Meanwhile, I would love to write more, but I am prepping for Haydenpalooza! I have so much to post, including my foray into fondant, or what I am lovingly referring to as Fondanticide, as well as a recap of Hayden's Super Duper Hero Party...coming this Saturday. To tie you over, here is picture of baked good request #2, the Classroom Party Cake Pops. 

To be continued...

Posted with Blogsy

Mermaid

"Mom, I designed this just to please you."

I'm pleased.

"By the way, it can also be a Christmas Tree."

Still pleased.

Posted with Blogsy

Making August Last...

This week has been a limbo week. No school, no camps, and that is fine by us and our beloved nanny, Ana. Both kids are home, and spending their last days with Ana before she ventures on to the next chapter of her life. A new baby and a new City are coming soon for her, and OUR littlest muchacho will be starting school in September. This parting is something we have been dreading since the beginning of last year. We knew after Hay started school this inevitable and heartbreaking moment would be imminent. After almost 6 years, we will say Adios to the most special person imaginable. Okay, I can't type anymore because my iPad is about to flood with tears. Until D Day - some fun pics.

Number five is coming soon!

We are much safer with these guys in our ranks...or more fit...not sure.

Plants have invaded and are eating our family (good thing for those super jazzy heros above!)

This Super Dad had a Ronnie Lott birthday.

We are rockin' old sleep sacks...

We got our ride back and I'm not the only one who's happy.

Hasta Septiembre....Sad post coming soon *sniff*

Posted with Blogsy

Summergram

Summer is whizzing by and our days have been typical. Swimming, Summer Camps, Birthday Parties, Play Dates, Lots of Fro Yo, some road trips and well, Mommy and Daddy still find time to work. Here are some Summer pics, mostly via Instagram. (follow my feed @jfree2be and Andy @crownmoto)

Good Days

Bad Days :-(

Rolling Stone retrospective

Girls Trips

First Flops

Hair Cuts by Mommy...

Wiiiiiiiiii

Helping...

Tie Dying

Lots of Breakfasts at Alana's

Progress

Cooking... Once (s'mores cookies)

Ice Cream

Watching the Olympics and reminiscing.

Crazy Nights

Puppies! (no, we didn't take another one home... But you can!)

Nature Camps

Just being natural

Jedi Lego Camps and X-Wing Fighters. I've been made aware that at the end of the week, he was now, certifiably, a real Jedi.

New Offices and helpers...

Andy's Office

Nights on the Town with Mr. Tambourine Man

Eating Pizza with Daddy

Completion of projects and new babies on the way... NOT US!

Shopping for new hobbies

And so it begins...

Just a snippet of our family here and there. There have been so many other moments that may remain unlogged- friends from out of town, road trips, etc. Hopefully, we'll have more to share soon. We are not ready to say that Summer is cooked just yet!

Posted with Blogsy